From Kasab to Headley: Who has been brought to justice for 26/11

After the conviction of David Coleman Headley in connection with the November 2008 terror strikes in Mumbai that claimed the lives of 160 people, here’s quick a look at who is facing trial and who have been convicted so far for their involvement in the attacks: Mohammed Ajmal Kasab: The sole gunman involved in the attacks in Mumbai in 2008 to be nabbed, Kasab was caught at Marine Drive in Mumbai and arrested that same night. After trial by a special court, he was convicted and sentenced to death. The death sentence was upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. His mercy petition was rejected and he was hanged to death on 21 November 2012. Faheem Ansari: Ansari was accused of making handmade maps of locations in south Mumbai that were targeted and then travelling to Nepal to hand over the maps to Sabauddin Ahmed, another accused. The duo were further accused of sending the maps on to their handlers in terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba which used them to plan the attacks in Mumbai. The two were acquitted by the trial court for lack of evidence, and the judgement was upheld by the Supreme Court. Fahim is still facing trial for his alleged involvement in an attack on a CRPF camp at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, in 2007. [caption id=“attachment_531269” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kasab is the only gunman involved in the attack to have been caught alive. Screen grab from CNN-IBN[/caption] Sabauddin Ahmed: Accused of being a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative functioning from Nepal, he was accused of having sent maps prepared by Faheem Ansari to Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives in Pakistan. He was acquitted by the trial court for lack of evidence and this judgement was upheld by the Supreme Court. Sabauddin is still facing trial for his alleged involvement in an attack on a CRPF camp at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, in 2007. Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal: Accused of being a handler of the gunmen involved in the 2008 terror strikes, Ansari was arrested in Delhi after he was reportedly deported from Saudi Arabia. Ansari along with Lashkar chief Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and others are accused of being present in the Karachi “control room”, that gave instructions to the gunmen. Jundal is accused of being one of six handlers for the gunmen and is accused of teaching Hindi to the gunmen and familiarising them with Mumbai. The Mumbai police has filed a charge sheet against him. David Coleman Headley: Headley, born Daood Gilani, is accused of travelling in India from 2006 to 2008, and performing critical surveillance of numerous targets, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, as well as the Chabad House, Leopold Café, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus rail station in Mumbai. He also surveyed the offices of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in Copenhagen and Aarhus in connection with the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. Headley and associate Tahawwur Rana were arrested in 2009. In March 2010, Headley pleaded guilty in a court hearing in Chicago. Sentenced on 12 counts, including conspiracy to aid the Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba, Headley was sentenced today to 35 years in jail. Tahawwur Rana: Pakistan-born Rana is a naturalized Canadian citizen who later on moved to Chicago for business purposes. Headley managed to convince Rana, who operated an immigration service named First World Immigration Services in Chicago and other locations, to to open a centre in Mumbai which Headley pretended to run. He was accused of knowing that Headley was associated with terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and still aiding him. Rana was convicted in June 2011 by a federal grand jury, which found the businessman guilty of providing material support to LeT and planning an aborted plot to bomb the Danish newspaper. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.  However, he was acquitted of charges of being involved in the Mumbai attacks. Hafiz Saeed: Head of the organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah that has funded the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, Saeed is facing trial for his alleged involvement in the November 2008 attacks. He has been accused of having planned the attacks. However, he is not facing trial in the case in Pakistan and despite India’s pleas for extradition and the US decalring a reward for anyone providing information leading to his conviction, he is still free to travel in Pakistan. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi: Lakhvi and the six other suspects were charged with providing accommodation and training facilities to the attackers. They were all charged with providing accommodation and training facilities to the attackers as they prepared for the assault. The trial is continuing in Pakistan and is being carried out in-camera. Others facing trial under the same charges as Lakhvi include: Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum. Six others who were wanted by the US in connection with the terror strikes: Illyas Kashmiri (killed in a drone strike in Pakistan) , Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed alias Pasha, Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa, Mazhar Iqbal, and Major Iqbal (accused of being a member of Pakistan Army who was working with Lashkar-e-Taiba).